1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to that of delivery trucks. More specifically, the field of the invention involves ventilation systems for the passenger section of the delivery vehicle.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Delivery Trucks have been developed to transport packages and mail over ground, with periodic stops for delivering packages, mail, or other cargo. Such trucks are generally segmented into two distinct sections, a driver section at the front of the vehicle and a cargo section at the rear of the vehicle. These sections are often separated by a wall, typically having a door to allow access from the driver section to the cargo storage within the vehicle. Because of space and cost constraints, delivery trucks typically do not include an air conditioning system. Rather, such trucks depend on fans and ventilation to keep the driver section at a reasonable temperature. These fans and ventilation are disposed on the front control panel of the truck and direct the air over the driver from that forward position.
Ventilation systems on such delivery trucks may also serve a second purpose of pressurizing the cargo section. One conventional arrangement involves installing the vent intake opening on the front of the vehicle over the driver""s window. A duct is mounted on the driver section ceiling which conveys air through the driver section and terminates with an exhaust opening facing into the cargo section. By venting in air from the top of the vehicle, relatively particulate-free air is forced into the cargo section when the vehicle is traveling in a forward direction. The resulting higher pressure within the cargo section keeps the particulate-laden air and moisture near the bottom of the vehicle from penetrating into the interior of the cargo section.
Attempts have been made to create greater cooling for the driver section with the ventilation system without diluting the pressurization of the cargo section. Unfortunately, previous attempts have involved gated openings in the cargo vent to direct a portion of the vented air towards the driver""s seat. While the gated openings created additional air movement over the driver, they also significantly reduced the pressurization of the cargo section. These attempts have proven to be less than optimal.
The present invention involves an improved ventilation duct for a delivery truck. The inventive duct system has an intake opening located at the front of the vehicle, with the duct being mounted on the ceiling of the driver section immediately above the driver. The duct has a damper near the front of the vehicle to turn the vent on and off, and gated openings over the driver""s seat to direct the airflow. An additional vent may also be installed over the passenger seated position if desired. The duct may also include an air filter system.
The present invention, in one form thereof, involves a delivery truck comprising truck chassis and a vehicle body. The truck chassis has control instrumentation. The vehicle body has a floor, a ceiling, a front section, and a back section, with the front and back sections being partitioned by a wall. The front section includes the control instrumentation and a driver seat located proximate to the control instrumentation. The front section further defines a vent opening. A duct is mounted on the ceiling, with an intake passage of the duct extending upwardly from the vent opening toward the ceiling and a main passage of the duct extending laterally over the driver seat. Coming off the main passage the duct has projection portions partly defined by sloping walls. The duct has at least one air portal opening structured and arranged to direct air over the driver seat. As will be described in the detailed description, this configuration of the duct helps prevent moisture from entering within the vehicle body and causes any moisture accumulating within the duct to drain therefrom to the exterior of the vehicle. The configuration also enhances air flow through the duct and out the air portals as the air moves from a more constrictive passage at the intake portion to a less constrictive air passage of greater volume in the projection portions.
In addition, a passenger seat vent may be included as an option. The vent duct may include an air filter system, and louvers may be disposed in the vent to direct the air flow to a particular location. The duct piece may be economically manufactured out of a composite material using a molding or casting process.
The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.